Spring in my Step

(Or: "How I was Unwittingly Trendy")

Having spent the last three days holed up with a fever, today, when I finally felt up to showering and facing the world again was AH-MAH-ZING.

The azaleas were in bloom, the birds were singing...it was lovely, even if all I did was run a few errands.

earrings: Vintage

tee: American Apparel

belt: J. Crew

skirt: Thrifted

shoes: Target

I hadn't realized how sheer this skirt was until I saw the photos. It's definitely semi-sheer, bordering on sheer in the sunlight. I had worn a short slip, so I did have opacity over, you know, the important parts.

The overall effect was definitely a bit like the half opaque, half sheer skirts that are so IN right now. And I think it balanced out the below-knee length.

And, in other amazing news, I think I solved my "Taco Bell" problem. We live near two college campuses, so they make great photo spots. If questioned, I can just say I'm working on a class project.

I'll do my best not to flash the undergrads.  :)

Taco 'Bout Embarrassing

I'm trying this new thing: not taking photos in my backyard. A good idea in theory, until I realize that the out-of-the-way office building I think is somewhat private is actually in full view of the Taco Bell Drive-Thru.

Talk about awkward. People just want their cheap, somewhat-reminiscent-of-Mexican food, and there's me, slowly scurrying back and forth from camera to pose. (I lost my remote.)

I'm just glad nobody called me a Gordita.

 

scarf: Vintage Schiaparelli

shirtdress: Anthropologie

bracelets: Birthday Gift

oxfords: Vintage

 

 

nail polish: OPI "Mod About You"

 

These oxfords were such a find! I love that they're leather, the punched fleur-de-lis and their bronze-y color. I picked up 4 pairs of shoes on this visit to Goodwill and all were size 8 and 1/2. So, thank you, little old lady who had awesome taste in shoes. I think I owe you a taco. 

Luck o' the Irish

Before my trip to Austin, I had wanted to pick up a new dress, but Bear and I had just tightened up our budget a bit, and I knew that spending $50+ on a dress just wasn't in the cards. I knew I just needed to wear older things I loved, and I already have so many, but somehow, a new dress just felt like it would provide that extra oomph of confidence during all the social events of TxSC.

Hoping to find something on a clearance rack, I popped in to our local Belk for the very first time.

(And...just as a side note...I am finding that I'm not sure which section I'm supposed to be shopping in at department stores as a 32-year-old. There seem to be two sections: "WAY-too-old-for-you" and "Trying-WAY-too-hard". Anyone else have this problem?)

This lovely lime dress was in the juniors section, and unbelievably, only $5.99.  It was a size too big, but nothing a little blogger belting couldn't fix. It wound up being too rainy and cold to wear during the Austin trip, though.

 

dress: Belk

scarf: Gift

belt: Anthropologie (via eBay)

bangle: F21

shoes: Cynthia Vincent for Target

Finally, the way I knew this dress and I were mean to be? Pockets.

Happy St. Patrick's Day to all of you. I'll be in OKC for the weekend for a dear friend's bachelorette party. I'm hoping to get some fun outfit shots in Bricktown!

Springing Forward

 If there's anything that might make me get back into blogging, 7 acres of nothing but daffodils and a great thrifted find might just be it. 

Bear and I went to Wye Mountain last year (here's the post), a local small town that boasts a little daffodil festival featuring 30 different varieties. The heat of this week had already wilted most of the flowers, but we had a good time anyway.

  

earrings: Vintage

dress: Vintage, thrifted, no brand tags

belt: Forever 21

shoes: Target

On my lunch break today, bolstered by incredible luck thrifting this weekend in Austin, I headed in to my local Goodwill and scored big time. I found several pairs of shoes and a few dresses, including this great one. 

 

 

I just love the back of this dress. 

  

And it's lovely to be able to wear sandals again. Thank you, weather. 

 

  

rings: Vintage, James Avery (a friend inscribed Eph. 1:15-19 in it, so sweet!)  

That nail polish looks obscenely bright, and it's pretty true to life. I'm not sure what I think of it yet. 

Everyday Present Post

If you're interested in this sort of thing, I posted my re-cap of Kendi's TxSC keynote over at Everyday Present today. 

It's long and emotional, and if you read the whole thing, I'll owe you a hug.

TL;DR

This weekend, while at TXSC, I had a few people ask if I intended to keep posting here while still posting at Everyday Present with Liz and Kara.

"Of course!" I would say. "It's just hard to maintain both, but I like having both a personal blog and a co-blog," wondering why someone would ask that.

Well, I just realized that it's been almost a month since I've posted here, so that question now makes sense. And that "not posting" has happened probably for a couple of reasons: I haven't felt inspired by my clothes, have felt self-conscious about my body (hey, it happens!) and have had some busyness (not a lot, but some) come up lately.

There's also been a lot of life stuff going on. Nothing bad--don't worry! Just processing and growing, and trying to figure out what this next year will look like. Trying to figure out what the next step in life for Bear and I is. Trying to figure out what exactly it is that I'm trying to do with my blog(s). Trying to, as cheesy as it sounds, figure out some more of who I am and what I'm good at.

The truth is that I've lost myself a bit. A lot of aspects of my life changed, and I either failed to change with them, or changed myself without knowing why. The saddest thing was that, in a lot of situations, I became afraid of being myself. Deathly afraid. Hiding under the bed afraid.

Once I realized this, it was time to pull back and re-evaluate. That's never been the way I want to live my life.

To me, style blogging is an outlet. And one that fills me, not drains. But lately, I just haven't been excited about it. And if there's one thing I can't do, it's fake interest in something that I'm just not feeling. All this processing and thinking has really drained me of any extra creative or mental energy.

The good news, I suppose, is that I firmly intend to keep blogging here. I'm just waiting for the day that posting an outfit doesn't feel like a chore, but is something I'm proud of and excited about.

That day is coming. I'm just not there yet.

EP

Check out my other co-blog, Everyday Present!

Together with Liz and Kara, we daily post outfits and bits of our lives. Our hope is that it helps each of us better enjoy each day, moment by moment.